3 things the Toronto Maple Leafs need to avoid being swept
The Boston Bruins got the job done on home ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Game One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday night.
This is expected to be one of the closer and more competitive series of them all. These two teams are each very good and expect to be in the playoffs beyond round one.
In game one, however, the Bruins continued to show their dominance over the Leafs. They beat them 5-1 despite being outplayed at times in the middle and end of the game.
Jeremy Swayman, Boston's great goaltender, was incredible when the Leafs were on. Their power play and penalty kill did the job as well which led to their victory.
That makes 8 straight (combined regular season and postseason) victories for the Bruins over the Leafs. It has been pure domination for a long time now.
That doesn't include the fact that the Bruins beat the Leafs in the playoffs in 2013, 2018, and 2019. Toronto hasn't beaten Boston in the postseason since 1959.
If the Leafs keep playing the game that they did on Saturday, they will get swept by the Bruins. These are the three things Toronto needs to avoid that from happening:
Auston Matthews needs to score goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have the best goal scorer in the league. Auston Matthews led the NHL with 69 goals this season which is the most anyone has had since the mid-90s.
Matthews had two chances, games 81 and 82, to hit 70. He did not do it. That means he is now at three games (including game one) without a goal.
The Leafs need Matthews to score goals if they are going to win. His 69 goals are a big reason that they are one of the top teams in the league. If they didn't have him, they wouldn't be nearly as good.
Matthews had a chance to score an easy one in the first playoff game with Swayman out of the net but he hit the post. The guy with 109 goals in the last two seasons should not be missing that shot.
If he gets going, the rest of the offense may follow suit but they have no chance if their top scorer isn't contributing to the scoresheet.
William Nylander needs to be healthy for the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs do more than one star. They actually have a few. In 2023-24, however, William Nylander has been the clear number-two guy.
He played in all 82 games and had 40 goals with 58 assists for 98 points. That is a lot of scoring. Despite getting into every regular season game, he missed the first game of the playoffs with an injury.
Nobody knows what or how but he wasn't in the lineup. If he wasn't healthy but played in game 82 in an attempt to reach 100 points, that is a bad look for everyone involved with that decision.
The Leafs need Nylander almost as badly as they need Matthews. Together, they are both incredible. On the power play, Nylander is the one that drives play more.
If he isn't healthy for the Leafs in this series, it will be hard to win a single game let alone the series as a whole.
Toronto must find a way to break through on Boston goaltending
Jeremy Swayman was incredible in game number one. He made 35 saves on 36 shots. The "Deserve To Win O'Meter" gave the Leafs an 85.4 percent chance to win the game based on their play and they lost by four.
The Leafs must break through if they are going to even win a game in this series. Jeremy Swayman was locked in and it is going to take some very strong play to beat him. Deflections, rebounds, and smart shot decisions are the only way they will get through to beat him.
Another problem for the Leafs is that the Bruins also have Linus Ullmark. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner is equally as incredible as Swayman. If the Bruins are smart, they will continue the rotation that they've had for the last handful of years.
No matter who is in the net, however, the Leafs need to find a way to make it hard on them. Both of them are elite and both of them can only be beaten with traffic in front and smart play.
Swayman made some good saves on Saturday night but the Leafs clearly weren't good enough. If they don't, they won't win.
feed